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The Anxiety Levels and Perceptions of Mathematics Learners
from a Midwestern Technical College on
Selected Classroom Climate Factors in
Mitigating the Effects of Math Anxiety
Cheryl M. Sutter
A Research Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Master of Science Degree
in
Career and Technical Education
Concentration: Teaching
Approved: 2 Semester Credits
The Graduate School
University of Wisconsin-Stout
May, 2006
The Graduate School University of Wisconsin-Stout
Menomonie, WI
Author: Sutter, Cheryl M.
Title: The Perceptions of Mathematics Learners from a Midwestern
Technical College on Selected Classroom Climate Factors in
Mitigating the Effects of Math Anxiety
Graduate Degree/ Major: MS Career and Technical Education
Research Advisor: Amy Gillett, Ph.D.
MontWY ear: May, 2006
Number of Pages: 54
Style Manual Used: American Psychological Association, 5th edition
Abstract
Adult learners (n=47) from a technical college were surveyed for their
mathematics anxiety level, their perceptions on 10 relational coping strategies, and 17
affective learning environment qualities, related to potential reduction in math anxiety.
The strategies and qualities were of an interpersonal and intrapersonal nature. Strategies
asked for use and helpfulness; qualities requested interest and helpfulness to decreasing
tension or worry. Brain function and resiliency validate promoting emotional health in
math education. Results across low, medium, and high anxiety learners showed use of
peer-related strategies as most used and most helpful while instructor and counselor
strategies were much lower. Medium anxiety learners used strategies the most, believed
to result from the combination of high need and sufficient academic self-efficacy to
pursue strategies.
Qualities most helpful were an instructor who responds to class needs, friendships
in class, appropriate humor, class discussion, and working with peers. Competition and
electronic discussion were wanted by less than 7% of the participants.
Acknowledgments
My thesis admittedly took on a topic that has been written about many times. To
venture into having anything newer to contribute or concrete to offer made my start to
this process full of reservation. But having a gut feeling that there must be something
worth thinking about on math anxiety that offers someone a hint or some language to
meaningfully connect with learners who struggle with math anxiety, gnawed at me. It is
with deep gratitude that the fuzzy beginnings and reformulation periods were supported
by my thesis advisor, Dr. Amy Gillett. I have been buoyed by her sincere interest and
encouragement in the short exchanges (and the not so short) we have had throughout this
process. To feel commensurate support for a challenge is a gift and an educational ideal.
Many thanks to Dr. Gillett for modeling this so well.
I would also like to anonymously thank the midwestem technical college and the
math instructor who coordinated my access to their adult learners as participants for this
study. Finding out what these learners thought was an audience I wanted to tap. The
access and their participation have been appreciated.
Table of Contents
....................................................................................................................................... Page
. . ............................................................................................................................... Abstract 11
. . .................................................................................................................... List of Tables vll
........................................................................................................ Chapter I: Introduction 1
Background .................................................................................................................... 1
.................................................................................................. Statement of the Problem 2
Purpose of the Study ......................................................................................................... 3
Research Questions ......................................................................................................... 4
................................................................................................... Signrficance of the Study 4
Assumptions ..................................................................................................................... 5
Scope and Delimitations ................................................................................................... 5
........................................................................................................... Definition of Terms 6
............................................................................................. Chapter 11: Literature Review 7
Introduction .................................................................................................................... 7
Anxiety Described ............................................................................................................. 7
........................................................................ What is the Brain Doing During Anxiety? 9
................................ Learner Reactions to Math Anxiety .. ........................................... 11
..................................................... Coping Strategies and Classroom Climate Qualities 12
........................................................................................................................ Resiliency 16
Chapter 111: Methodology ................................................................................................. 20
Introduction .................................................................................................................... 20
Selection and Description of Subjects ........................................................................... 20
............................................................................................................... Instrumentation 20
Data Collection ............................................................................................................... 22
........................................................................................ Data Processing and Analysis 23
...................................................................................................................... Limitations 24
Chapter IV: Results ........................................................................................................... 26
.......................................................................................... ................... Introduction .. 26
................................................................................................................. Demographics 26
................................................................................................ Anxiety Composite Score 29
............................................................................................................ Coping Strategies 30
................................................................... Learning Environment/Relational Qualities 36
.......................................... Chapter V: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations 39
................................................................................... Introduction ...................... ... 39
....................................................................................................................... Discussion 39
Conclusions ................................................................................................................. 41
Recommendations ........................................................................................................... 43
......................................................................................................................... References 46
.............................................. Appendix A: Developmental Assets Related to Academia 50
Appendix B: Survey .......................................................................................................... 51
List of Tables
. .............................. Table 1: Coping Strategy Usage Comparison Peskoff Study 13
...................................... Table 2: Math Background Variables by Anxiety Level 28
..................................... Table 3 : Strategy Usage and Helpfulness - Low Anxiety 31
................................ Table 4: Strategy Usage and Helpfulness - Medium Anxiety 32
.................................... Table 5: Strategy Usage and Helpfulness - High Anxiety 33
Table 6: Coping Strategy Usage Comparison - Current Study ............................... 34
................................................ Table 7: Coping Strategy Helpfulness Rankings 35
Table 8: Interest in Classroom Qualities ......................................................... 37
Table 9: Top Ranked Qualities to Reduce Tension ............................................. 38
Chapter I: Introduction
"I just don't get it. Math isn't my thing and I'll never understand it." Learners
facing a mathematics course who believe similar sentiments tend to feel defeated before
they even begin the course. A sense of shutting down often occurs (Holley & Steiner,
2005; Godbey, 1997). Anecdotal evidence of this phenomenon is commonplace and
mathematics anxiety has been documented across the country's spectrum of learner age
ranges and their educational settings (Perry, 2004; Taylor & Fraser, 2003; Safford-
Ramus, 2001).
Having a fear or dread of mathematics, whether found in academia or infiltrated
with daily living, leaves some people cognitively and emotionally "stuck." Distancing
themselves from mathematics may be a preferred reaction, but doing so exacerbates their
lack of mathematical confidence and competency (Ryan, Gheen, & Midgley, 1998). By
fearing math or assuming dismal results for the effort, individuals steer their career and
leisure choices so they can minimize their math anxiety (Bankhead, 2002; Tobias, 1991).
Background
The early 1980's marked a new link between brain research and educational
implications. Brain research has increasingly been considered through an educational lens
in an effort to disclose conditions under which attention, memory, and conceptual
understanding are impacted by the learning environment. Brain research allows
understanding how the brain develops and changes over time, when critical periods are
optimal for particular development (e.g. language, vision), and how the brain
compensates for loss or damage (Sousa, 2006: Sprenger, 1999). Brain research findings
have helped inform best practices within education in many ways and it offers insight as
to why math anxiety tends to be a chronic condition unless countered in meaningful
ways. This will be discussed further in the literature review.
Anxiety, in general, has been challenging to define in terms of which aspects to
include in its construct. The Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (2000) included the
doubt a person has about a situation and one's capability to adequately respond to it. The
New Oxford American Dictionary (2001) recognized the aspect of an uncertain outcome.
Mathematics anxiety is considered a state-specific form of general anxiety. Further
description of general and math anxieties, along with symptoms of math anxiety are
included the literature review.
A healthy learning climate is commonly understood as integral to the success of
all learners, but may be particularly significant for math anxiety learners. This study
sought literature about classroom climate components in relation to math anxiety. It
focused on those that signal the importance of interpersonal and intrapersonal
relationships.
Statement of the Problem
Safford-Ramus (2001) reported that between 1980 and 2000, only 10% of
abstracts for published, mathematically-oriented dissertations (n=12) were related to
interventions for adults with math anxiety. Furthermore, the dissertations neglected
certain aspects of mathematics education, including communication through writing and
cooperative activities (Safford-Ramus, 2001). These topics relate to the affective and
relational natures of math education which have been the angle of math anxiety
considered in this study.
Math anxiety has several inherent challenges related to its study. One challenge is
working with definitions that emphasize different aspects of the phenomenon, of which
different learners experience various aspects and with different intensities. Another
challenge regards the ongoing assimilation of current brain research findings and how
they develop or hone subsequent attempts to decrease math anxiety. And considering
math anxiety is an "o ld topic, it may be challenging in some circles to keep collegial
conversation fresh and energy directed on potentially helpful strategies. There is great
demand on academic departments to meet a broadening array of institutional and
community needs. In recognition of expanding and competing demands of education, it is
hoped that developing an understanding of current brain research, honing the learning
environment toward affective health, and acquiring frequent learner input can efficiently
contribute toward minimizing math anxiety.
In this study, perceptions by a sample of post-secondary math learners were
collected to offer their perspectives on the prevalence and or effectiveness of selected
coping strategies and classroom climate qualities related to learning math. The learners
were surveyed to ascertain their math anxiety levels for potential relationship to their
perception data.
Purpose Statement
The purpose of this study was to document and compare math anxiety levels with
perceptions of math learners from a midwestern technical college on interpersonal and
intrapersonal coping strategies and affective classroom climate factors potentially
available within math learning environments. Data was collected in April 2006 using a
three part survey.
Research Questions
The following questions helped guide the search for relevant literature and target
the nature of the researcher's interests.
1. Are there any approaches to understanding or conceptualizing math anxiety
that might freshen conversation on this topic?
2. As customers of math education, what do learners of a midwestern
technical college perceive as helpful coping strategies for their math learning
environment that involve personal relationships?
3. Beyond coping strategies, what support or relational learning qualities do
these learners associate with tension reduction in math?
Significance ofthe Study
With math anxiety's presence over decades and across learner age groups, the
psychological and educational professions continue to deal with a phenomenon that
hinders the pursuit and enjoyment by learners of activities in their personal, academic,
and professional lives intertwining with mathematical content.
Math anxiety reduction appears related to a healthy learning climate. One
synonym used for a healthy learning climate is safe space. Little information has been
written to account for a learner's perspective of safe space (Holley & Steiner, 2005).
Determining factors that learners view as creating or enhancing a healthy learning
climate, with an emphasis on factors that reduce excess tension and worry, is a goal with
professional practice implications.
Assumptions
Research reported for this study attempted to focus specifically on post-secondary
math learners. When content was not found to address this population, some research
using other populations (e.g. younger math learners or post-secondary non-math learners)
was reported. While there was no assumption that findings for these populations transfer
in a one-to-one fashion to post-secondary math learners, it was assumed that the research
had something valuable to add to the discourse.
It was also assumed that all survey participants have provided honest and candid
feedback to all survey items.
Scope and Delimitations
The scope of this study involved one midwestern technical college which has
multiple campuses within a state system. The sample of learners who participated in the
survey was currently attending the same campus during April 2006. At the time,
participants were enrolled in one of the following face-to-face math courses:
Trigonometry, Business Math, or Introduction to College Mathematics. These courses
were taken as requirements within their respective programs. The desired sample size for
each course was 50 or more, however 30 or more would allow applying correlation
statistics within and between courses. Fewer than 30 participants per course would limit
the statistics to frequencies and measures of central tendency. The degree of
generalizability to this campus for these courses is dependent on how representative the
sample is of the population attending this campus. Generalizability beyond this campus
can only be speculative, given sample sizes and the amount of demographic information
collected to compare with other populations.
Definition of Terms
Below are several terms defined according to their use in this study. The term
anxiety, shown below, and the term math anxiety, not shown below, will both have
further description in the literature review.
Anxiety -
an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by
physiological signs (as sweating, tension, and increased pulse), by doubt
concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one's
capacity to cope with it. (Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 2000, p. 53)
Classroom climate or learning climate - the affective nature of the space and
relationships comprising a learning environment; this includes, but is not limited to, the
aesthetics, comfort, and appropriateness of the learning space and the levels of mutual
respect, personal sharing, resource access, inclusion of alternate viewpoints, support and
encouragement, risk and reward, and the placement of decision making in the
environment.
Safe space -
a classroom climate that allows students to feel secure enough to
take risks, honestly express their views, and share and explore their knowledge,
attitudes, and behaviors. Safety in this sense does not refer to physical safety.
Instead, classroom safe space refers to protection from psychological or emotional
harm. (Holley & Steiner, 2005, p. 50)
Self-efficacy - the thoughts and beliefs about one's power or capacity to produce
a desired effect; the thoughts and beliefs about one's personal ability to achieve results.
Chapter 11: Literature Review
Introduction
This chapter will present interrelated ideas for understanding math anxiety and
selected approaches to helping reduce it. These include brief descriptions of general
anxiety and math anxiety, a section on brain function, a section on learner reactions under
anxiety perceived conditions, and a look at classroom qualities and coping strategies
considered helpful to minimizing anxiety. The classroom qualities and coping strategies
of focus in this study relate to affective and relational characteristics shared among
learners and the instructor when participating in face-to-face classroom settings. An
emphasis on resiliency is considered.
Anxiety Described
Baloglu (1999) has researched definitions of general anxiety, mathematics
anxiety, and statistics anxiety in a comprehensive attempt to consolidate years of
descriptors for these phenomena. Statistics anxiety will not be considered in the current
study. He found variations and occasional discrepancies between the 1950's to the time
of his writing, however three general anxiety constructs surfaced.
General anxiety is composed of trait anxiety and state anxiety, two components
which are widely accepted as descriptive of anxiety (Baloglu, 1999). Trait anxiety is the
individual's natural propensity toward anxiety and is considered a relatively stable,
personal characteristic, while state anxiety refers to a specific situation perceived as
threatening that varies in duration. General anxiety may also be viewed as comprising
cognitive and affective components (Olson, cited in Baloglu, 1999). This construct
attempts to distinguish between worry-type elements of anxiety and its emotional
elements. A third construct considers general anxiety as having cognitive, behavioral, and
emotional elements (Wine, cited in Baloglu, 1999). The constructs are not exclusive of
one another.
Math anxiety is "an inability by an otherwise intelligent person to cope with
quantification, and more generally, mathematics" (Kranz, cited in Perry, 2004, p. 321).
Similarly it has been described as "the feelings of tension and anxiety that interfere with
the manipulation of numbers and solving of mathematical problems in a wide variety of
ordinary life and academic situations" (Richardson & Suinn, cited in Baloglu, 1999, p. 4).
Less definitional sounding, Kitchens (1 995, p. 6) indicated "any feeling that prevents you
from learning math in a natural way as you did as a young child.. .is math anxiety."
Kitchens placed emphasis on the learner's thoughts and fears while downplaying any lack
of capacity to learn math. And while a comprehensive review of math anxiety definitions
over time indicate there has not been full agreement on what it is (Kazelskis, cited in
Baloglu, 1999), it is not to include or to be confused with the construct of test anxiety
(Arem, 2003), a separate phenomenon about test taking skills or fears of being evaluated.
Symptoms of math anxiety experienced by different learners are many. They can
include nausea, perspiration, hot tingling sensations, extreme nervousness, inability to
hear the instructor, upset or distraction from noises like crumpling paper, inability to
concentrate, negative self-talk, headache, stomachache, muscle tension, a blank mind,
sweaty palms, shortness of breath, and others (Arem, 2003; Kitchens, 1995).
Anxiety's symptoms arise from the perceptions and messages a learner processes
(Arem, 2003; Kitchens, 1995). Messages may be personal in the form of thoughts and
self-talk (a continuous inner dialogue) or external in the form of verbal comments and
body language from those around the learner. The messages from people significant to
the learner can be particularly impactful, either positively or negatively, and both
researchers advocated careful selection of the company a math anxious learner keeps.
What Is The Brain Doing During Anxiety?
Prior to the 1 98OYs, learning about the human brain required autopsying cadavers,
a limited discovery mode given the organ was no longer functioning. Recent decades
have seen tremendous growth in neuroscience due to brain-imaging and testing
techniques (Sousa, 2006; Sprenger, 1999), allowing real time acquisition of brain data in
response to varying stimuli.
Some brain anatomy background allows understanding how certain approaches to
minimizing math anxiety have validity grounded in neuroscience. To that end, a brief
orientation to the brain follows.
Scientists have divided the exterior regions of the brain into four lobe areas with
different, and some overlapping, functions (Sousa, 2006). The frontal lobes are behind
the forehead and continue to mature into early adulthood. This region is responsible for
planning, judgment, higher-order thinking, problem solving, regulating excesses of the
emotion system, and personality. This is where most of working memory happens, so it is
an area where focus occurs. The temporal lobes are above the ears and responsible for
sound, music, speech (primarily on the left), face and object recognition, and some long
term memory. The occipital lobes reside at the middle back of the brain and handle visual
processing. The parietal lobes are at the top back of the brain and deal with spatial
orientation, calculation, and certain types of recognition.
The brainstem is evolutionarily the oldest and physically the deepest brain area
(Sousa, 2006; Sprenger, 1999). It is the home base for 11 of 12 body nerves and it
monitors and controls heartbeat, respiration, temperature, and digestion. It also is home to
a screening system that determines which incoming sensory data is more important than
others. Data perceived as survival-related gets a highly important status, while other data
drops out within a few seconds. The brainstem is a survival-oriented structure, and the
physical symptoms experienced by learners with math anxiety indicate their brains have
perceived stress or threat.
The limbic system, minimally a convenient term for a group of four structures
with different functions, resides just above the brainstem in the center of the brain and
generally has functional duplication in both brain hemispheres (Sousa, 2006; Jensen,
1998). The system interacts with many parts of the brain and is responsible for emotions,
sleep, and the production of most of the brain's chemicals. One structure, the thalamus,
receives sensory data first and then monitors it for survival content, using past
experiences to determine importance (Sousa, 2006). Input of a higher priority inhibits
brain processing of lower priority data. Any threat is processed immediately, causing
adrenaline and other chemicals to be released brain-wide, shutting down unnecessary
brain activity. In this case, "unnecessary brain activity" refers to learning or other activity
not related to survival. The use of past experiences in determining importance is partly
due to the arnygdala, a limbic system structure thought to encode an emotional message,
assuming there is one, whenever a memory is marked for long-term memory. As a result,
as a long-term memory is recalled, say from sixth grade math class, cognitive elements
(e.g. definition, formula) and emotional elements (e.g. panic, failure) are part of recall.
Recalling the emotion is enough to re-experience the emotions and physical
manifestations from the memory.
When a learner experiences a threat, real or perceived, the brain reacts to the
situation the same way (Sprenger, 1999; Beck, cited in Baloglu, 1999). Anxiety hijacks
normal cognitive processing. Anything that embarrasses a learner becomes a threat that
inhibits the brain processes used in learning (Jensen, cited by Tileston, 2000). "When
threat exists, the brain operates in survival mode and while we can learn in that mode, we
do so at the expense of higher-order thinking" (p. 47).
Learner Reactions to Math Anxiety
Among learning strategies, help-seeking is a valuable skill. As young learners
mature, they begin to sense their own academic prowess and develop recognition for
when they need assistance (Ryan, Gheen, & Midgley, 1998). Help-seeking combines a
learning strategy with a social interaction, and both are important types of support (Ryan,
Patrick, & Shim, 2005). Math anxious people, however, feel they are alone (Salinas,
2004; Kitchens, 1995). They fear being judged as not having ability when they ask for
help (Arem, 2003; Ryan, Gheen, & Midgley, 1998, Tobias, 1993). Thinking it would be
far better to appear disinterested, not attend class, or not turn in homework than to be
identified as producing work reflecting low performance, some learners will opt to avoid
the very behaviors that could assist their learning. According to Spandel(2005), asking
learners about what grades mean to them indicates, "many students will tell you that the
worst grade to receive is a C because while an F means that you didn't try or didn't
care.. .a C indicates that you did your best but still failed - and that's depressing." Fear of
exposure and embarrassment prevents constructive action (Kitchens, 1995; Tobias,
1993).
Self-efficacy is the notion, one's thoughts and beliefs, about having the personal
power or capacity to produce a desired effect. Academic self-efficacy refers to a learner's
judgment about hisher capability to successfully complete schoolwork (Pintrich &
Schunk, cited in Ryan, Gheen, & Midgley, 1998). Separate fiom the possibility of lacking
prerequisite knowledge, most college undergraduates have the cognitive capacity to
handle advanced algebra, intermediate statistics, and college calculus but they do not
believe they can (Tobias, 1991). Learners with high levels of academic self-efficacy are
more likely to perceive help seeking as a constructive learning strategy (Ryan, Patrick, &
Shim, 2005); while learners with low academic self-efficacy are more likely to think their
help-seeking behaviors are interpreted by others as low ability. These learners are less
likely to seek help. Seeking help is positively related to the affective environment of the
learners' classroom (Stipeck et al., cited in Patrick et al., 2003).
Coping Strategies and Classroom Climate Qualities
A math anxiety study at a community college with 279 learners and 50 faculty
members from math and counseling departments was conducted (Peskoff, 2001). The
study was aimed at determining three things: learners' levels of anxiety with their
perceptions and use of ten coping strategies, math and counseling faculty perceptions of
helpfulness of those coping strategies, and a comparison of strategy helpfulness among
the three groups of participants. Three outcomes resulted.
First, low anxiety learners (as determined by the Composite Math Anxiety Scale)
employed a wider variety of strategies than the high anxiety learners. This was
understood as low anxiety learners were in a better position to pursue coping strategies,
considering that anxiety in general has a disabling effect on learners (Peskoff, 2001).
A second outcome (see Table 1) was that high anxiety learners used only 2 of the
10 coping strategies more than low anxiety learners (tutoring and counselor discussion)
and these 2 were considered by all learners as least helpful among the 10 (Peskoff, 2001).
Finally, there was general agreement among the groups regarding perceived
helpfulness of these strategies (Peskoff, 2001). All groups ranked the best two strategies
as completing one's homework on time and letting the instructor know when course
content was not being understood. They also ranked extra time to study for an exam and
asking questions in class as among the best strategies of the 10 studied. Staff, however,
considered tutoring a more helpful strategy than did learners.
Table 1 Coping Strategy Usage Comparison - Peskoff Study
Coping Strategy Utilized More By Learners With
Low Anxiety High Anxiety
Complete Homework On Time X
Communicate with Instructor if You Do
Not Understand X
Allow Extra Review Time Before Exams X
Ask Questions In Class X
Use Additional Texts or Review Books X
Discuss Class Experiences or Difficulties
with Other Learners X
Remind Yourself You Are A Good Student X
Include Relaxation (exercise, physical
activity, or systematic relaxation) X
Use Tutoring Services X
Discuss Difficulties with Counselor X
Math anxiety researchers, when considering the affective realm of learning math,
believe adult learners need opportunities to express their thoughts and feelings about
math and to become aware that other competent adults also have math uncertainties
(Godbey, 1997; Archambeault, 1993; Tobias, 199 1). Emotion either impedes or
motivates learning (Dirkx, 2001). Negative self-talk and negative feelings will prevent a
learner from concentrating on math (Tobias, 1991), while letting out frustration is
important to being able to focus attention on problem solving (Salinas, 2004).
Tobias (1991) held math clinics or math anxiety reduction programs where
university learners countered myths about learning math and discussed thoughts and
feelings about math. This process occurred en route to cultivating behaviors practiced by
strong math learners (i.e. hard work, persistence, alternate problem solving approaches).
According to Tobias (1993, 1991), influential to the clinics were: using personally written
math autobiographies to discover past rub spots or negative math experiences; meeting
with other math anxious learners to share feelings and thoughts (i.e. group de-tox
sessions), and gaining awareness of one's negative self-talk for learning to replace it with
more constructive messages. Clinic meeting time was separate from any class. It allowed
group bonding and created an atmosphere of growing trust that developed toward
incorporation of math content in small doses. The math instruction continually allowed
expression and processing of how learners perceived new math experiences. Tobias
claimed that over 600 university learners went through the clinic in the 1970's and 1980's
and all went on to take and pass calculus (1 991).
Written exercises within the math anxiety clinics helped learners grasp the
dialogue they continually heard inside themselves and to better express and challenge
those thoughts. This relates to one of the findings of a study among 24 pre-service
elementary teachers taking an undergraduate math course (Salinas, 2004). The use of
reflective notebooks, with entries requested daily after class, contained diary-like entries,
journal writing, and personal understandings. These notebooks were reviewed by the
instructor every one or two weeks, informing the instructor of questions and individual
insights in which to make class adjustments, and offering learners written comments and
encouragement made in response to their leggings. The study collected data via the
learner notebooks, an instructor notebook of content related to class happenings, learner
surveys at semester's end, and interviews of a random sample of learners. As a result, the
study revealed three themes.
Learner writings indicated they acquired new understandings of math, gained
awareness of their understanding relative to the learning community (they generally
worked in groups), and prompted their own self-evaluation (Salinas, 2004). New
understandings represented things like math does not always have one right answer nor a
single approach for problem solving, and math is not "'just know(ing) what steps to do,
but how and why we use the steps"' (Salinas, 2004, p. 320). Learning one's place in the
learning community came from sentiments of "'I'm not the only one"' (p. 322), "'I think
I work better with people"' (p. 323), and "'Being able to turn in my work and questions
and then receiving responses from the teacher helps me understand better"' (p. 323). Self-
evaluation came across in reflecting on one's thoughts and feelings or putting them in
some perspective. One learner wrote, "'Fractions have always scared me. I had a hard
time motivating myself to even attempt this homework. But, somehow reflecting in my
notebook gave me a way to let out what I felt"' (p. 324). Salinas indicated frustration and
attitudes were seen by learners as hampering their progress. The process of writing
allowed the frustration, as recorded by one learner, "(to) 'get it out of my system so I can
concentrate better"' (p. 325).
Resiliency
Promoting resiliency among learners may be an umbrella perspective to apply to
math competency (Malloy & Malloy, 1998) and by association, math anxiety. Resiliency
is the capacity to bounce back from adverse circumstances. Merriam-Webster defined it
as "an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change" (2000, p. 993).
For learners with math anxiety, drawing upon their resiliency resources is part of
mounting a coping response. Sources to follow bring resiliency into the math picture,
pointing to its ties with interpersonal and intrapersonal health.
Learner characteristics, believed to contribute to passing a state mandated high
school Algebra I course, were identified by a group of math teachers (n=20) studied in
four North Carolina high schools that had general academic profiles at or above statewide
averages (Malloy & Malloy, 1998). Data collection methods included teacher
questionnaires, observations of teachers and students in algebra classes, pre- and post-
observation teacher interviews, school-based focus groups with teachers, and student
achievement data by school. The learner characteristics were corroborated by the
researchers and included "taking responsibility for learning, persistence, self-confidence,
risk taking, collaborative interactions, transfer of learning, enthusiasm, help seeking, and
sense of humor" (p. 3 15). The researchers considered these characteristics as themed
around resiliency. They proposed resiliency as worth infusion into math education for all
learners.
Practices employed by the teachers, as observed by Malloy and Malloy (1998),
supported resilient learner characteristics, even though the teachers primarily identified
themselves and were observed as users of traditional teaching methods. The practices
were constant monitoring of student learning (e.g. daily homework, expectations of
students explaining solutions to classmates, never accepting self-defeating responses to
challenging problems); encouraging alternate routes to problem solving (e.g. allowed
students who developed nontraditional solutions to share them with the class, prompting
others to explore other routes); encouraging risk taking (e.g. pairing marginal and higher-
performing students together to make contributions collectively, learners seeing that
correct or incorrect work can be learned from); creating enthusiasm for a stimulating
class; and using collaboration and humor (e.g. encouraged conversation that kept learners
on task, allowed working together to buoy spirits when work was difficult).
From the focus group feedback with the teachers, the researchers reported,
a rigid, no-nonsense approach in traditional mathematics does not hinder the
progress of high-performing students because their self-confidence and
persistence thrive in an austere and competitive atmosphere. But conversely, that
same atmosphere tends to create apprehension on the part of the low and marginal
students because it tends to stultify creativity and discourage risk-taking behavior
and collaboration. (Malloy & Malloy, 1998, p. 3 16)
The teachers added that humor helped student willingness to try math problems and
reduced tension.
Search Institute, a non-profit organization located in Minneapolis, MN, has as its
primary goal to determine the factors or assets that help children and young people
develop into healthy, well-adjusted people, for themselves and for their communities.
They have conducted and reviewed studies showing there is a positive correlation
between levels of developmental assets youth have and various measurements of
academic achievement (Scales & Roehlkepartain, 2003).
Developmental assets are defined as "positive factors in young people, families,
communities, schools, and other settings that have been found to be important in
promoting young people's healthy development" (Scales & Roehlkepartain, 2003, p. 2).
Forty developmental assets, 20 considered external and 20 considered internal, have been
articulated by Search Institute. Beyond studies that link higher asset levels to greater
academic competency, analyses of surveys of over 2 15,000 youth across raciallethnic and
socio-economic groups have determined that asset development applies across these
groups both in terms of the reduction of risk behaviors and the increase of thriving
behaviors (Sesma & Roehlkepartain, 2003). Both the reduction of risk behaviors and the
increase of thriving behaviors play roles in academic success.
Educational professionals and the learning environments they promote account
for approximately one-fourth of the external assets and three-fourths of the internal
assets. Post-secondary social work learners in a study by Holley and Steiner (2005)
attributed more responsibility to the instructor for creating safe space than they did to
their peers or themselves. Safe space was defined as "a classroom climate that allows
students to feel secure enough to take risks, honestly express their views, and share and
explore their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors" (Holley & Steiner, 2005, p. 50). Safe
space is not to be understood as a learning environment without any stress, conflict, or
challenge, but from this researcher's perspective these elements are guided by respect and
coupled with commensurate support to match the challenge at hand. The assets associated
with academia are noted in Appendix A with categories as determined by Search
Institute. The assets have been identified and described in terms of youth ages 12 to 18.
So, where might assets have connection with reducing math anxiety? The
common quality may be in how steeped the assets are in interpersonal and intrapersonal
relationships within the learning environment. With more assets in a learner's personal
arsenal, researchers have theorized that adverse circumstances, including academic
difficulties, are more likely to be countered with resiliency characteristics and appropriate
help-seeking behaviors (Scales & Roehlkepartain, 2003).
Chapter 111: Methodology
Introduction
This chapter outlines subject selection and description, details the nature of the
survey used to acquire data, and provides the data collection procedures, types of data
analysis, and limitations of the methodology.
Selection and Description of Subjects
Adult learners who attend a technical college do so for a variety of reasons and at
different times in their lives. They may be seeking a first career, skill enhancement,
voluntary or involuntary career change, or personal interest. This study's participants
were volunteers from three math courses held at a midwestern technical college. All
learners in attendance at their face-to-face math class were asked to participate in the
survey.
Though not mandatory for the study, course selection considered whether learners
might represent some differences in quantity of prior math preparation at the post-
secondary level. As a result, one course with a prerequisite math course and two courses
without a math prerequisite were surveyed.
Instrumentation
A hardcopy, anonymous survey was used to gather data. Brief demographic
information consisted of six items, mostly fill-in-the-blank. Requested data included the
participant's current math course, program name, gender, age, number of years of high
school math passed, indication of whether high school math was taken through block
scheduling, number of math courses passed since high school graduation or GED
attainment, and how many years it had been since taking a prior math course. These items
were included to allow potential identification of differences or correlations in survey
responses by gender, age, and math background. The block scheduling question was only
included to determine how many participants may have had to interpret how to respond to
the question regarding the number of high school math years. One open-ended question
concluded the demographic background to allow any clarification, if desired.
The remainder of the survey consisted of three sections: one on personal anxiety
with math, the second on interpersonal and intrapersonal coping strategies experienced in
math, and the final section on selected affective qualities wanted in a math learning
environment, with specific interest on those that learners considered helpful to reducing
math tension.
The math anxiety section was modeled after a ten question, Likert math anxiety
subscale taken from the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales Test (1 976).
Some subscale ideas were adopted with minor changes for clarity, while others were
modified or replaced to better represent more current literature. One open-ended question
was added to conclude this section, allowing learners to clarify answers or add
information, if desired.
The second section on 10 coping strategies was modeled after a study on math
anxiety and coping strategies among adults from a community college (Peskoff, 2001).
Using Likert-type questions, the model prompted how often a coping strategy was
engaged in and then its effectiveness as perceived by the learner. For strategies not
experienced, the learner could still indicate how effective helshe thought they would be if
they were to be used. The current study employed this format. The six coping strategies
that involved classroom or educational personnel from Peskoff s study were adopted with
minor modifications, and the remaining coping strategies were developed by the
researcher. Questions were designed so that this section focused on math coping
strategies with an interpersonal or intrapersonal nature.
The final section, created by the researcher, allowed bringing in additional
affective and relational qualities that learners may want and find helpful to tension
reduction. The format provided a list of 17 qualities that learners were asked to
checkrnark if they were considered as desirable in their math learning environment. The
final question had learners indicate which of their chosen qualities were also considered
as helpful to tension reduction.
Outside of this study, the survey has not had replicated use; therefore, its
statistical measures of validity and reliability are unknown. The survey was piloted with a
class of 16 graduate students from an area university for intended content validity, clarity,
and approximate time length for completion. Minor revisions were made to wording
based on their feedback. Several changes were made to the demographic background
after the pilot to better capture each learner's self-reported math background.
The survey was presented in booklet form with the consent form on page one,
followed by three survey pages. Participants were offered an identical copy of the consent
form to keep for contact information. A copy of the finalized survey is located in
Appendix A.
Data Collection
The Institutional Review Board of the researcher's university campus approved
this study's proposal and survey. Permission to survey was then sought from a
midwestern technical college and subsequently denied due to a sense of survey burnout
within the institution. Permission to survey was then sought and obtained from an
alternate midwestern technical college prior to survey administration. The surveys were
completed and collected at the start of each class. Variability in environment was limited
to the time of day as the classes met in the same room, on the same day, and were taught
by the same instructor. Survey time ranged from 7 to 15 minutes based on arrival time of
the participant. The researcher administered the surveys and batched them by course
enrollment.
Data Processing and Analysis
The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), Version 12, was utilized
for processing and analyzing the data. The raw data was loaded into the program. After
entry of raw data, a random audit of approximated 25% of the data, as well as data that
looked curious, was conducted. One error was found and corrected.
Anxiety questions had Likert responses of Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A),
Undecided (U), Disagree (D), and Strongly Disagree (SD). These responses were
assigned values of one to five, respectively, for the positively worded anxiety statements
(e.g. I usually don't worry about my ability to solve math problems). Reverse coding
within SPSS was used on the negatively worded statements (e.g. I get a sinking feeling
when I think of trying hard math problems). Composite anxiety scores could vary from
10 (lowest) to 50 (highest). The low anxiety range was defined as 10 - 24 (the lower 35%
of the scale), the medium range was 25 - 35 (the middle 30%), and the high range was
36 - 50 (the upper 35%).
Frequencies, percents, and cross-tabulations were calculated using SPSS. Measures of
central tendency were calculated manually. Based on sample sizes, no correlation data
were calculated, with the exception of one Spearman rho. The results can be found in
Chapter IV.
Limitations
A variety of literature indicates there is an inverse relationship between math
background and level of anxiety (Ulrich, 1989; Betz, 1978). As a result, the survey
participants were asked to indicate the length of time since their prior math course, how
many years of high school math they passed, and how many courses of math were passed
since high school graduation or GED attainment. The intention was to have some means
for gauging the recentness and quantity of math background. The survey did not request
the specific coursework taken, or how successful learners were in those courses beyond
specifying the courses were passed.
Continuing with math background, the survey did not request the quantity or
depth that life experiences with math may have played for some participants. For
example, a non-traditional learner who was changing careers may have had significant
math experience in some content areas through handling the family finances or through
work responsibilities. This type of data, while meaningful to one's background, did not
seem logistically feasible to collect through a short survey. Data of this nature would be
better collected through interviews or case studies. As a result, no attempt was made to
collect and compare the value of those life experiences, so the depth and recentness of
math background was confined to academic coursework.
As mentioned in the Subjects section of this chapter, adults attend technical
colleges for a variety of reasons. The motivations or rationales for learners pursuing their
particular programs which resulted in their math course requirements were not
considered. The degrees to which these elements play a role in defining participant
anxiety and their perceptions of helpful factors were not within the scope of this study.
Chapter IV: Results
Introduction
This chapter consists of a brief overview of how participants were acquired, the
demographics describing them, the anxiety levels and comments of participants, their use
and perceptions of helpfulness on 10 coping strategies, and their interest and perceptions
of helpfulness on 17 affective learning environment qualities. Research Questions #2, #3,
and #4 will be addressed as the respective data are presented. Due to Research Question
#1 being covered by the literature review, its discussion has been included in Chapter V.
A survey was offered to five sections of three math courses held by a midwestern
technical college. A total of 61 learners were registered for these sections and 48 were in
attendance on the day of surveying. The survey was administered to determine the
learners' math anxiety levels and their perceptions of strategies and qualities that may
have been part of their past learning experiences in math. Of the 48 learners, 47 chose to
participate by taking the survey, a return rate of 97.9%. These learners made up 77.0% of
the registered learners in these face-to-face classes.
Demographics
There were 26 male, 20 female, and 1 unrecorded participants in this study. They
were pursuing a variety of programs, with over half seeking Criminal Justice, Mechanical
Design, or Architectural Commercial Design. As program requirements, they were either
enrolled in Trigonometry, Introduction to College Mathematics, or Business Math
(38.3%, 3 1.9%, and 29.8%, respectively, n=47).
Thirty-four participants were traditional learners (ages 18-25 years, 73.9%) and
1 1 participants were non-traditional learners (ages 26+, 23.9%). One 17 year old learner,
unbeknownst to the researcher, also participated (2.2%). Any subsequent reference to
traditional and non-traditional learners will group this participant with traditional
learners.
Math background was collected through three variables. The amount of high
school math passed ranged from 0 to 5 years. The data showed 20.5% had 0 to 2.5 years
and 79.5% had 3 or more years (n=44). Seventeen participants (37.0%, n=44) indicated
they had some high school math through block scheduling. Eight of these indicated they
passed 4 years and the one learner who indicated 5 years did also. Seven of the remaining
eight learners showed 2 or 3 years, and the remaining learner indicated 0 years passed.
The second background variable indicated the quantity of post-secondary math
coursework passed, ranging from 0 to 4 courses. The distribution was 28.3% with no
course, 30.4% with one course, 21.7% with two courses, 15.2% with three courses, and
4.3% with four courses (n=46).
The final background variable was the time elapsed since a prior math course and
this ranged from 0 to 28 years. The majority of these learners (64.4%) had a one year
break or less (n=45). Seven learners (15.6%) had a 2 to 4 year break, five learners
(1 1.1%) had a 5 to 19 year break, and four learners (8.9%) had a break greater than 20
years. Table 2 collectively shows the three math background variable frequencies and
their measures of central tendency, categorized by anxiety levels.
Table 2 Math Background Variables by Anxiety Level
High School Math Anxiety Level
Passed (yrs) Low Medium High
Mean 3.6 3.2 2.2 Median 4 3 2 Mode 4 3 2,4
n=23 n=15 n=6
Post-Secondary Math
Courses Passed (#)
Mean Median Mode
Time Since Previous
Math Course (yrs)
Mean Median Mode
Anxiety Composite Score
Learner anxiety scores ranged from 10 - 50, matching the theoretical range. The
low, medium, and high anxiety percentages for male participants were 61.5, 30.8, and
7.7, respectively. For female participants, the respective percentages were 35.0,40.0, and
25.0. Since female participants in this sample had higher anxiety by category than their
male counterparts, the non-parametric Spearman rho correlation was calculated between
gender and the three variables of math background to see if any statistical significance
existed between gender and background. Mild statistical significance was found at the
0.029 level for gender as related to time length since a prior math course (rho=0.325), and
not with the other two variables.
Composite scores by course yielded low, medium, and high anxiety percentages
for Trigonometry learners at 61.1, 33.3, and 5.6, Introduction to College Mathematics
learners at 53.3,33.3, and 13.3, and Business Math learners at 5 1.1, 34.0, and 14.9,
respectively.
The open-ended question which concluded this survey section allowed
clarification or comments by participants about their comfort level. Eight learners offered
comments that concurred with their anxiety level. For example, two highly anxious
learners (composite scores of 49 each) wrote, "I don't understand math, it is hard for
me", and "I strongly hate math!!" Two low anxiety learner wrote, "I like m a t h
(composite score of 23), and "I enjoy math! It's the instructors that make people
understand it which makes them (people) feel at ease or ill with math" (composite score
of 14). Additional comments collected indicated some math is easier than others, a person
can enjoy one type of math but not another, math homework can go well while tests do
not, and that Core Math in high school did not adequately prepare that learner for college
level math.
Coping Strategies
The coping strategy data had a response range of 1 (not at all) to 5 (a lot). Of the
middle options, only 3 was labeled (somewhat), leaving 2 and 4 as additional relative
options. The data, organized by anxiety level, have been presented in Tables 3,4, and 5.
Usage and helpfulness per strategy have been combined on one table for each anxiety
level. Usage results will be reviewed first for all anxiety levels and then helpfulness will
be addressed in response to Research Question #2.
For low anxiety participants (n=23, Table 3), five of the strategies were used
somewhat or more by 70 - 80% of the participants. These were working with a group in
class, working with a partner in class, asking the instructor questions in class, discussing
experiences or difficulties related to math with other students from class, and reminding
oneself of being mentally capable when starting to feel incompetent. The sixth item used
most was studying with a partner outside of class (50.0%).
Strategies used least were tutoring (83.3% never), speaking with a counselor
about math experiences or difficulties (79.2% never), phoning or emailing the instructor
to discuss material not understood (70.8% never), and meeting the instructor for help
(62.5% never). These learners, however, had a favorable perception of tutoring, with
75.0% thinking it could be somewhat or more helpful.
The medium anxiety participants (n=16, Table 4), showed higher relative usage
for its top five strategies (81.4 - 93.8% at somewhat or more). These were working in a
group in class, discussing experiences or difficulties related to math with other students
from class, asking the instructor questions in class, having a partner in class, and having a
partner outside of class. The sixth strategy was reminding oneself of being mentally
capable (62.5%).
Table 3 Strategy Usage and Helpfulness - Low Anxiety Participants (n=24)
Usage (%) Helpfulness (%)
I I I I
I I I I I 1 Class
83.3 4.2
79.2 8.3 12.5 0 0
8.3
Counselor 33.3 8.3
Partner Outside 12.5 0
8.3 16.7
25.0 4.2
12.5 8.3 37.5 33.3 8.3 Group InClass 4.2 8.3 25.0 37.5 20.8
62.5 12.5
70.8 12.5
12.5 12.5
The strategies used least (never or less than somewhat) by those with medium
anxiety were phoning or emailing the instructor (8 1.3%), speaking with a counselor about
math experiences or difficulties (68.8%), meeting the instructor (68.8%), and tutoring
(56.3%).
0 4.2 1 Tutor
54.2
47.1
45.8
33.3
4.2 0
33.3 12.5
12.5
16.7
37.5
20.8 4.2
20.8 8.3
25.0 12.5
37.5 1 20.8 16.7
8.3 4.2
0 0
20.8 16.7
Informal
Discussion
Mentally Capable
in Class
MeetingInstructor
Phone~Email
Instructor
Partner In Class
8.3 16.7
20.8 0
25.0 12.7
50.0 20.8
8.3 8.3
50.0
29.2
16.7 8.3
20.8 29.2
37.5
20.8
29.2
12.5 12.5
4.2 4.2
33.3 20.8
Table 4 Strategy Usage and Helpfulness - Medium Anxiety Participants (n=16)
Usage (%) Helpfulness (%)
Tutor 25.0 6.3 18.8 18.8 31.3
Counselor 25.0 25.0 31.3 12.5 6.3
Partner Outside 0 0 50.0 18.8 31.3
Class
Informal
Discussion
Mentally Capable
AskingQuestions
in Class
High anxiety participants (n=7, Table 5) indicated their most used strategies as a
partner outside of class (loo%), discussing experiences or difficulties related to math
with other students from class and asking questions of the instructor in class (both
85.8%), and working with a partner in class, working with a group in class, and
reminding oneself of being mentally capable (each 71.4%).
Meeting Instructor
PhoneIEmail
Instructor
Partner In Class
Group In Class
0 12.5
0 25.0
18.8 31.3
18.8 37.5
43.8 25.0
0 0
0 0
43.8
56.3
18.8
37.5 6.3
6.3 12.5
18.8 12.5
31.2
25.0
31.2
25.0
0 12.5
0 6.3
43.8 25.0
37.5 37.5
Table 5 Strategy Usage and Helpfulness - High Anxiety Participants (n=7)
Usage (%)
0 0 1 57.1 0 42.9 Partner Outside I O 0 I 57.1 14.3 28.6
Helpfulness (%)
d
-a C, cd C, z + c'4
57.1 0
42.9 28.6
C,
2 3
C,
0 d
4 m d-
I I 1 Experiences 1 I I
' f l
Coping Strategy
14.3
28.6
0 14.3
d - cd
C,
C,
2 3 2 0
I I I in Class I I I
c.)
0 4
C1 "?
c'4 l m 0 28.6
0 0
42.9
d- P: 'f
28.6 0 57.1
14.3 O I 14.3
Strategies used least by the high anxiety group (at levels below somewhat)
included phoning or emailing the instructor (81.3%), speaking with a counselor and
meeting with the instructor (both 68.8%), and tutoring (56.3%).
Table 6 provides a comparison among the three anxiety groups to highlight which
group used each strategy the most by percent of participants. The medium anxiety group
used 8 of 10 strategies more often than other learners.
Tutor
Counselor
0 42.9
14.3 42.9
28.6 14.3
14.3 0 ~ Mentallycapable
42.9 28.6 AskingQuestions
42.9 28.6
57.1 28.6
28.6 0
14.3 14.3
14.3 42.9
42.9 28.6
Class
Discussing
28.6
42.9
28.6
14.3
14.3
28.6
14.3 0
14.3 0
14.3
14.3
14.3 14.3
I
0 0
0 0
28.6 28.6
14.3 28.6
0 28.6
14.3 0
42.9
Meeting Instructor
PhoneIEmail
Instructor
Partner In Class
Group In Class
0 28.6
42.9 28.6
57.1 28.6
14.3 0
0 14.3
14.3
14.3
28.6
28.6
0 14.3
0 0
14.3 42.9
28.6 28.6
Table 6 Coping Strategy Usage Comparison - Current Study
Coping Strategy Utilized Most By Anxiety Level
Low Medium High
Use Tutoring Services X
Discuss Difficulties with Counselor X
Work with Partner Outside of Class X
Discuss Experiences or Difficulties with Other X
Learners from Class
Remind Yourself You Are Mentally Capable X
Ask Questions in Class X
Meet Instructor on Material Not Understood X
PhoneIEmail Instructor on Material Not Understood X
Work with Partner in Class X
Work in a Group in Class X
Research Question #2 asked, "As customers of math education, what do learners
of a midwestern technical college perceive as helpful coping strategies for their math
learning environment that involve personal relationships?' The second section of the
survey prompted these results through asking for the relative helpfulness of each strategy
by answering, "how helpful has it been OR how helpful do you think it would be if you
tried it?'Responses of somewhat or more were combined for the percentage results that
follow.
Low math anxiety participants indicated the most helpful strategies were working
with a group in class and a partner outside of class (both 87.5%), having a partner in class
(83.3%), reminding oneself of being mentally capable (79.2%), tutoring and asking
questions in class (both 75.0%).
Medium anxiety participants perceived it most helpful to have a partner in class,
work with a group in class, and have a partner outside of class (each loo%), discuss
experiences or difficulties related to math with other students from class (87.5%), and
work with a tutor (68.9%). Half of these participants indicated asking questions in class
as helpful.
High anxiety participants identified the most helpful strategies as a partner outside
of class (loo%), a partner in class, working with a group in class (both 85.7%), and
discussing experiences or difficulties related to math with other students from class
Table 7 shows the relative rankings for helpfulness of the coping strategies. When
summative percents for responses of somewhat helpful to a lot were the same, the
distribution of responses from somewhat to a lot generally differentiated the rankings.
Table 7 Coping Strategy Helpfulness Rankings
Coping Strategy Anxiety Level
Low Medium High
Use Tutoring Services
Discuss Difficulties with Counselor
Work with Partner Outside of Class
Discuss Experiences or Difficulties with Other
Learners from Class 7 4 4
Remind Yourself You Are Mentally Capable 4 5 7
Ask Questions in Class 6 7 5
Meet Instructor on Material Not Understood 8 9 9
PhoneIEmail Instructor on Material Not Understood 10 10 10
Work with Partner in Class 3 2 2 tie
Work in a Group in Class 1 1 2 tie
Learning Environment/Relational Qualities
Research Question #3 asked, "Beyond coping strategies, what support or
relational learning qualities do these learners associate with tension reduction in math?"
The third section of the survey provided 17 affective possibilities of which they could
select as many as were applicable to those they wanted in their math environment and
then those they considered as helpful to reducing worry about math. Since they could
want certain qualities for reasons not associated with tension reduction, both questions
were asked to improve the clarity of results, presented in Table 8.
Table 8 lists the percents by anxiety level of those who considered the quality
wanted plus helpful to reducing anxiety (Helpful) and the percents that combined
responses of wanted alone with those marked wanted plus helpful (Total). The last
column provides an overall percent of the interest of participants in having that quality
present in their math learning environment (i.e. minimally they want it present).
One low anxiety participant did not respond to the qualities section at all and three
medium anxiety participants indicated the qualities they wanted, while not indicating any
as helpful to reducing worry. By not indicating any as helpful, it is unknown whether this
represented their perceptions or whether they did not see or answer this last survey
question. As a result, some helpful qualities identified by medium anxiety participants
could be underrepresented by 0, 6.2, 12.5 or 18.8 percent, though their overall total
percents, which combine wanted with helpful, would not be impacted. Data in Tables 8
and 9, for medium anxiety participants only, are potentially affected.
ÿ able 8 Interest in Classroom Qualities (%)
Sample
Total
Interest
Classroom
Quality
Work with partner
Work in groups
Work alone
Work with instructor
Instructor responds
to class needs
A sense of hope is in
the classroom 8.7 43.5 18.8 62.6 , 0.0 57.1
Anxiety Level
Low (n=23) Medium (n= 16) High (n=7)
Organized
competition
Internal competition
In class discussion
Electronic
discussion
Someone in class
understands me
8.7 39.1
8.7 34.8
13.0 50.8
0.0 4.3
8.7 39.1
Freedom to approach
problems differently
Friendships in class 1 39.1 60.8 12.5 50.0 14.3 85.7 1 60.9
Helpful Total
57.1 100
42.9 85.8
0.0 14.3
28.6 57.2
57.1 100
Helpful Total
34.8 69.6
34.8 60.9
26.1 69.6
21.7 30.4
39.1 86.9
13.0 52.1
A spirit of "we're in
this together"
Group members are I I I
Helpful Total
31.3 81.3
43.8 62.6
6.3 37.6
18.8 43.8
37.5 81.3
0.0 30.4
about one another 34.7
Appropriate humor 73.9
held accountable
Classmates care
0.0 34.8 6.3 62.6 0.0 28.6 43.5
Eight qualities were identified as the top five rankings for helpfulness (see Table
9). Participants identified an instructor who responds to class need as the number one
ranked factor, regardless of anxiety level. Friendships in class and appropriate humor also
tied for first among low anxiety learners while working with a partner tied for first among
high anxiety learners. Other top qualities across two or three anxiety levels were working
with a partner, working in groups, in class discussion, and appropriate humor.
Two learners (both low anxiety) thought internal competition was helpful to
tension reduction, while 41 learners did not. Three learners (2 low, 1 medium) thought
organized competition was helpful, while 40 did not. Electronic discussion was wanted
by 1 learner but not marked as helpful, while 42 learners did not want it nor mark it as
helpful. Anecdotally, all learners have campus email accounts, and their math instructor
indicated that approximately 70% have internet access at home.
Table 9 Top Ranked Qualities to Reduce Tension
Quality Helpfulness by Anxiety Level
Low Medium High
Instructor responds to class needs 1 tie 1 1 tie
Work with partner 4 tie 3 1 tie
Work in groups 4 tie 2 3
In class discussion - 4 tie 4 tie
A spirit of "we're in this together" - - 4 tie
Classmates care about one another - - 4 tie
Friendships in class 1 tie - - Appropriate humor 1 tie 4 tie -
Note. Items marked with a hyphen can be viewed as percentages in Table 8 with all
qualities.
Chapter V: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations
Introduction
This chapter includes a recap of the rationale for the study, a discussion of
Research Question #1, highlights of survey findings, conclusions drawn, and general
recommendations for instructors and further research.
A comprehensive look at math anxiety could entail evaluating study skills,
identifying gaps in knowledge, gleaning the relevance a learner attributes to math,
identifying the classroom goal structure promoted or perceived, finding triggers of the
past or present that block progress, assessing the influences of learning climate, etc. A
range of approaches seems appropriate to maximize improvements.
Tobias' math clinics and personal self-help book emphasized emotional
processing with content instruction (1991, 1993). Kitchens' work did, too (1 995). The
efforts of those who recognize and work on the affective realm of math anxiety do not do
so instead of cognitive content work, but as an integral part. This study took the angle
that an affective lens has a strong presence across math anxiety issues, and that learner
perceptions are a powerful source for determining the affective elements that impact their
own anxiety levels.
Discussion
This study collected anxiety data from 47 math learners from a midwestern
technical college and used it for comparison to classroom climate factors. The goal was
to determine learner perceptions of what is helpful to mitigating their math anxiety.
While the data came from one instructor's classes, the survey was about the body of their
math experiences and not about their current instructor or course.
Research Question #1 asked, "Are there any approaches to understanding or
conceptualizing math anxiety that might freshen conversation on this topic?" To this end,
the literature review offered brain fhction and resiliency as windows for looking at how
each contribute to the affective resources available as learners cope with academic stress,
of which math anxiety is certainly one.
The brain is a complex organ. It has as its primary function the survival of the
organism. While human learning is a dynamic process involving the brain beyond the
context of this study, the fundamental nature of the brain's use of emotion and priority
assignment to ensure survival, decreasing or shutting down other cognitive processing if
necessary, validates the importance of the affective learning environment. Helpful to all
learners, math anxiety learners especially need positive affective experiences with math
and to have supportive opportunities to rethink some of their negative experiences. The
literature indicated several strategies such as discussing math difficulties with other
learners to know one is not alone, using written reflections to sort what is being learned
and to safely unload emotional math baggage, replacing one's negative self-talk with
more positive and realistic messages, and working together on challenging problems. In
conversation with the instructor of the learners in this study, the instructor shared that
more vocal learners who expressed their frustration and anxiety about math seemed to do
better academically than those suspected of keeping their frustrations inside.
Resiliency-building, as suggested by Search Institute and others, is the platform
from which adolescents develop into healthy and productive adults. The extent to which
developmental assets are present and working well for learners when they arrive at post-
secondary institutions becomes their operational base for layering additional learning
experiences. In this study, 76.1% of technical college participants were traditional
learners. It does not seem like a stretch to this researcher that they are continuing their
asset development. Infusing resiliency-building into math education at the high
school level was advocated by Malloy and Malloy (1 998). Is post-secondary math
education a place to extend resiliency-building to reduce adult math anxiety? What about
learners (ages 17-60+) who do not have asset rich backgrounds? Learners facing serious
deficits may need services outside the math classroom. The idea is whether a resiliency or
asset development perspective has a place within it. This study presented work showing
resiliency efforts overlap with relational and affective learning environment factors. For
some educators or school programs, considering resiliency for assisting those with math
anxiety does not need to compete with what is already being done to foster a good
learning environment, rather it offers another language or slant from which to think about
it.
Conclusions
In this study, learners rated multiple peer-connected coping strategies as the most
used and the most helpful among the relationship strategies studied. When differentiated
by anxiety level, the peer-oriented strategies remained in the top half. These included
working in groups in class, working with a partner in or out of class, and discussing
experiences and problems about math with their classmates. Low anxiety learners were
more apt to think asking questions of the instructor in class yielded favorable results than
their classmates. In the Peskoff study of community college math learners (2001), the
coping strategies were not all relational. Its top three strategies were completing one's
homework on time, letting the instructor know when material was not understood, and
allowing extra time to study for tests. Communication with the instructor was its highest
relational coping strategy.
Medium anxiety learners appeared to use coping strategies more than either the
low or high anxiety learners in this study. In the community college study (Peskoff,
2001), learners were grouped only into low and high anxiety categories. There the low
anxiety group was found to use a wider range and more strategies than the high anxiety
group. The idea of higher academic self-efficacy among the low anxiety group was
thought to explain the difference. In the present study, it may be that the medium anxiety
group used more strategies than the low anxiety group out of having a greater need for
them, and they used more strategies than the high anxiety group out of a greater sense of
self-efficacy. While the Peskoff study rated letting the instructor know if material wasn't
being understood as one of the best coping strategies, the current study showed asking
questions in class and meeting the instructor for help as middle to low ranked items, and
more so for high anxiety learners. The sample size, however, was particularly small for
the high anxiety group. The lowest ranking strategies in Peskoff s group were tutoring
and counselor discussion, and these strategies were also low ranked items for usage and
helpfulness here.
From the perspective of the researcher, an affective approach to countering math
anxiety may have three points of attack: better understanding of what the brain is or is not
doing during anxiety so that the role of emotion during learning is not undervalued with
adults; drawing learners toward realizing that the presence of anxiety is not a sign of
lacking the intellect necessary for math competence; and promoting a learning
environment that supports more learners, keeping particularly attuned to learners with
anxiety. Strategies and classroom qualities promoted would seek ways to positively
impact all learners, yet any differences between those factors with respect to anxiety
levels would be one legitimate way to prioritize efforts.
Recommendations
Study Replication
The relatively low quantity of participants in this study means there is limited
generalizability of findings beyond the institution's face-to-face math classroom
population. No ethniclrace data were collected on the survey, though the sample was
observed by the researcher as considerably European-American. A larger sample is
recommended so statistically valid correlations between anxiety levels and respective
perceptions could be calculated for the population of interest.
The use of three variables to determine a learner's math background was initiated
as a theoretical improvement over the more common solo variable of years of high school
math. It turned out that there was a statistically significant relationship (rho=0.325;
p=0.029) between anxiety by gender and years since a prior math course for this sample.
Replication with more participants at each anxiety level would better confirm whether
multi-variables for math background are valuable. The use of the block scheduling
question toward common interpretation of the number of high school years of math a
learner had is not clear from the data obtained.
Instructors
As practitioners committed to having math learners master competencies for
success in their respective careers, the literature points to the importance of positive
affective qualities within the learning environment. Regarding math anxiety, this includes
making opportunities for learners to express their apprehensions about math and to
experience positive feedback, given emotion's central role in learning and how negative
emotion can shut down cognitive processing. This can look differently for different
practitioners and be guided by the learners. Options could include:
Invite the learners' input prior to the end of class evaluation. Individually
designed surveys, journaling, group discussion, or a learning environment
inventory can offer insights. Educators often have a more positive view of their
classroom environments than do their learners (source unknown). Combine past
experiences with the perspectives of current learners.
Ask a colleague to observe several classroom sessions for feedback specifically
on affective qualities of interest, displayed by learners and the educator.
Initiate data collection on why learners underutilize certain strategies like tutoring
or meeting the instructor outside of class. This can be but does not have to be
formal. Are certain inhibitory logistics or perceptions able to be modified?
Further Research
An affective lens across components of math anxiety could be looked at from the
instructor's viewpoint. What is the prevalence and perception by faculty using
competency-based math instruction on the inclusion of affective learning climate factors?
Do some forms of promoting a healthy learning climate compete with other forms?
Which factors yield strongest results given the amount of time a learner spends in
technical college math courses? To what degree does faculty report getting emotional and
inservice support for including social and support factors for learners?
Resiliency within learners has focused on those 12 to 18 years of age. To what
extent are the assets, or the relationships that foster the assets, relevant to math anxiety
reduction in adults? How different would a list of assets for post-secondary learners look
or does it change significantly over the span of an adult learner's lifetime? Social learning
theory and cooperative learning would be two bodies of work, some dealing with adult
learners, to show overlap with the youth assets. A broader literature search and more
research could help address these questions. As post-secondary institutions serve growing
numbers of non-traditional learners, determining the longevity and importance of
developmental assets for non-traditional learners will increase.
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Appendix A: Developmental Assets Related to Academia
Category Asset and Description
Support Adult relationships - person receives support from three or more non-parent adults
Caring school climate - school provides a caring, encouraging environment
Empowerment Safety - person feels safe at home, school, and in the neighborhood
Boundaries & School boundaries - school provides clear rules and consequences Expectations Adult role models - adults model positive, responsible behavior
Positive peer influence - person's best friends model responsible behavior
High expectations - both parent(s) and teachers encourage the person to do well
Constructive Programs - person spends three or more hours per week in sports, Use of Time clubs, or organizations at school andlor in the community
Commitment to Achievement motivation - person is motivated to do well in school Learning School engagement - person is actively engaged in learning
Homework - person reports doing at least one hour of homework every school day
Bonding to school - person cares about herhis school
Positive Values Caring - person places high value on helping other people Integrity - person acts on convictions and stands up for own beliefs Honesty -person "tells the truth even when it is not easy" Responsibility - person accepts and takes personal responsibility
Social Planning and decision making - person knows how to plan ahead Competencies and make choices
Interpersonal competence - person has empathy, sensitivity, and friendship skills
Cultural competence - person has knowledge of and comfort with people of different cultural/racial/ethnic backgrounds
Resistance skills - person can resist negative peer pressure and dangerous situations
Peaceful conflict resolution - person seeks to resolve conflict nonviolently
Positive Identity Personal power - person feels control over "things that happen to me"
Self-esteem - person reports having a high self-esteem Sense of purpose - person reports that "my life has a purpose" Positive view of personal future - person is optimistic about herhis
personal future
Appendix B 5 1 - --
This research has been approved by the UW-Stout IRB as required by the Code of Federal Regulations Title 45 Part 46.
1
Consent to Participate in UW-Stout Approved Research
Title: Determining the Comfort Levels and Perceptions of Math Learners on Selected Coping Strategies in Mathematics
Investigator: Cheryl M. Sutter 736 Bolles St. Eau Claire, WI 54703
Research Sponsor: Dr. Amy Gillett, UW-Stout [email protected] (7 15) 232-2680
Description: The purpose of the study is to collect data from adult math learners to compare their math comfort levels with the prevalence/effectiveness of some social factors related to math. Participants will be currently enrolled in a math course at a Midwestern technical college. The data is collected through a three-section survey.
Risks and Benefits: There is no perceived risk for the participant or the technical college. As potential benefit, a participant may become aware of another avenue for math support or encouragement from completion of the survey. The data a participant supplies will help inform the investigator and broader audience who have an interest in math anxiety among learners.
Time Commitment: Approximately 10 minutes
Confidentiality: Your name is not collected on this survey document and no participant names will be seen by the investigator at any point in this study. All information collected will remain anonymous.
Right to Withdraw: Your participation in this study is entirely voluntary. You may choose not to participate without any adverse consequences to you. If you choose to participate and later wish to withdraw from the study, there is no way to identify your anonymous document after it has been turned in to the investigator.
IRB Approval: This study has been reviewed and approved by The University of Wisconsin-Stout's Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB has determined that this study meets the ethical obligations required by federal law and university policies. If you have questions or concerns regarding this study please contact the Investigator or Advisor. If you have any questions, concerns, or reports regarding your rights as a research subject, please contact the IRB Administrator.
Investigator: Cheryl M. Sutter (7 15) 836-7903 sutterc@,uwstout .edu
Advisor: Dr. Amy Gillett (7 15) 232-2680 pilletta@,uwstout.edu
IRB Administrator Sue Foxwell, Director, Research Services 152 Vocational Rehabilitation Bldg. UW-Stout Menomonie, W 5475 1 (7 15) 232-2477 foxwells~uwstout.edu
Statement of Consent: By completing the following survey found in this booklet, you agree to participate in the study entitled, The Anxiety Levels and Perceptions of Mathematics Learnersfiorn a Midwestern Technical College on Selected Classroom Climate Factors in Mitigating the Eflects of Math Anxiety.
Page 1 of 4
Demographic Information Name of Current Math Course: Your Program Name: Gender (please circle): Male Female Age:
How many years of high school math did you pass? Was any of your high school math taken through block scheduling? (please circle) Yes No How many math courses have you passed since earning your high school or GED diploma? How many years has it been since your last math class? Do you wish to clarify any of your answers?
Survey on Comfort Level with Math
The following ten items are statements that may represent your feelings about math. Please complete all items and clearly circle the answer that best represents your feelings.
SA = Strongly Agree A = Agree U = Undecided D = Disagree SD = Strongly Disagree
1. SA A U D SD I wouldn't mind taking more math courses as long as it didn't require
more time and money.
2. SA A U D SD I get a sinking feeling when I think of trying hard math problems.
3. SA A U D SD My emotions about math generally hurt my performance on a math test.
4. SA A U D SD I usually don't worry about my ability to solve math problems.
5. SA A U D SD I seldom get concerned when something math-related comes up in
real life.
6. SA A U D SD My mind goes blank and I am unable to think clearly when doing math.
7. SA A U D SD I have usually been at ease during math tests.
8. SA A U D SD I have usually been at ease during math courses.
9. SA A U D SD Math makes me feel uncomfortable and nervous.
10. SA A U D SD Math can make me feel physically ill.
Do you wish to clarify any of your answers or share anything else concerning your comfort level
with math?
Please continue on next page. ?,
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Survey on Selected Relational Behaviors used as Coping Strategies for Math
The following is a partial list of strategies that students may use in order to learn mathematics effectively and do well in their math courses. Please respond to !&I questions listed below each of the following behaviors. Clearly circle the most appropriate number for you from 1 to 5 where:
1 = not at all 3 = somewhat 5 = a lot
Please respond to all questions in relation to your math experiences.
1. Using the school's tutoring center or a private tutor a. How often have you tried this? 1 2 3 4 5 b. How helpful has it been OR how helpful
do you think it would be if you tried it? 1 2 3 4 5
2. Discussing with the school counselor my math course experiences or difficulties a. How often have you tried this? 1 2 3 4 5 b. How helpful has it been OR how helpful
do you think it would be if you tried it? 1 2 3 4 5
3. Meeting a study partner outside of class to work on homework or prepare for quizzes/tests a. How often have you tried this? 1 2 3 4 5 b. How helpful has it been OR how helpful
do you think it would be if you tried it? 1 2 3 4 5
4. Discussing experiences or difficulties related to your math course with other students from class
a. How often have you tried this? 1 2 3 4 5 b. How helpful has it been OR how helpful
do you think it would be if you tried it? 1 2 3 4 5
5. Reminding yourself that you are mentally capable even when you start to feel incompetent a. How often have you tried this? 1 2 3 4 5 b. How helpful has it been OR how helpful
do you think it would be if you tried it? 1 2 3 4 5
6. Asking your instructor math questions in class a. How often have you tried this? 1 2 3 4 5 b. How helpful has it been OR how helpful
do you think it would be if you tried it? 1 2 3 4 5
Please continue on next page. -+
Page 3 of 4
1 = not at all 3 = somewhat 5 = a lot
7. Meeting your instructor in person for help on material you don't understand a. How often have you tried this? 1 2 3 4 5 b. How helpful has it been OR how helpful
do you think it would be if you tried it? 1 2 3 4 5
8. Conversing by phone or email with your instructor for help on material you don't understand a. How often have you tried this? 1 2 3 4 5 b. How helpful has it been OR how helpful
do you think it would be if you tried it? 1 2 3 4 5
9. Working with a partner during class to review, clarify, solve problems, or encourage one another
a. How often have you tried this? 1 2 3 4 5 b. How helpful has it been OR how helpful
do you think it would be if you tried it? 1 2 3 4 5
10. Working with a group of students during class on activities that review, clarify, solve problems, or encourage one another
a. How often have you tried this? 1 2 3 4 5 b. How helpful has it been OR how helpful
do you think it would be if you tried it? 1 2 3 4 5
Survey on Selected Relational Qualities in Math Education
Of the following possibilities, which ones do you want in your math learning environment? 1. Check all that apply.
working with a partner working in groups working alone working with the instructor an instructor who responds to class needs a sense of hope in the classroom organized competition (e.g. quiz bowl, review games) internal competition (ways to compare my performance to that of my classmates)
in-class discussion electronic discussion someone in class who understands me being free to approach problems differently a spirit of "we're in this together" friendships in class all group members being held accountable for group work classmates caring about one another appropriate humor
2. Of the items you checked, clearly circle those that help you reduce any tension or worry about math.
Thank you for your time andparticipation. Again, all responses will remain anonymous.
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